Storage Under Bunks

[Damandan]

Has anyone cut up the deck under the bunks for extra storage? I've done a good deal of reviewing the Parker 2520 deck construction and it doesn't look like there is any foam up front.

I was thinking about maybe even moving my batteries up front if there was room. Seems like quite a bunch of space under there that is wasted. Just wanted to check to see if anyone has done this before cutting in and finding something surprising under there.

Pictures would be greatly appreciated.

 

[coolbreeze]

do you mean under the cushions? If so i have hatches under both lots of room . I am thinking about cutting in the rear deck for fish box .

 

[John_Madison CT]

Puttiing the batteries up there might work pretty good !! It would certainly help get the bow down.

 

[Megabyte]

If you do it, please post project photos!

 

[Damandan]

Coolbreeze,

Yes under the cushions is what I meant. I went on board another parker 2520 at a local marine shop that was for sale and looked under the bunks and there were two hatches on either side. Lots of room just like you said. I'm assuming mine will not be gelcoated but I can handle that.

My plan is to cut a small hole with a hole saw enough to get my hand into, to see exactly where I can place a hatch and how much room I have. (Will post pics)

I'd like to put the batteries on the port side to offset the helm, ect. But depending on how much work is involve running the wires across I might just start off with the batteries directly infront of the helm.

John_Madison - I agree I hope this helps get the bow down since I don't have trim tabs yet.

Thanks for your responses!

 

[Damandan]

Here are some pictures of what I am looking at now.

There seems to be a lot of wasted space under bunks.

Starboard Side inback of the helm which is where I would put the batteries. There is a pipe that runs to the engine shown in next pic

Picture of pipe inside helm. Hoping to place batteries under the bunk and drill a hole into this pipe and run battery cables all the way back to the engine.

 

[Megabyte]

I have to look in my archives to see if I have any photos of the hatches and storage on my boat.
You could probably use those photos to determine where to cut.

Edit:

Tough to see because of all the gear, but here you can see the port side hatch.

 

[Megabyte]

Found one...

Maybe once it stops raining I can go down and take photos of the starboard side.

 

[coolbreeze]

I think you will be surprized at how much room there is . But one area you may want to think about for the batteries is the front bilge area. not sure if you have a hatch there but it would be easier to have a flat bottom . if you don't already .. in the cushion area is very limited room for working and not flat at all . but It could be done. do you have a notched transome ?

 

[Megabyte]

in the cushion area is very limited room for working and not flat at all . but It could be done.

Very true.
You can see the slope of the hull in the photo above, so you want to measure and cut carefully.

 

[Damandan]

Thanks for the pictures. I was going to cut up a little further in the bunks until I saw your hatches were almost at the beginning of the bunks. Haven't made the cut yet, probably this weekend going to go in with a hole saw and take a peek in.

Coolbreeze I do have a notched transom. Where is the front bilge area, do you have any pics? You're not talking about where my port-a-poty is located in my picture. Somewhere under deck? I don't have a hatch anywhere on the boat except in the stern right in front of the engine (where my batteries are currently located). Then there are 2 pie plates on deck (one for gas fill/vent and the other for the pickup).

Appreciate all the help!

 

[Megabyte]

Where is the front bilge area, do you have any pics? You're not talking about where my port-a-poty is located in my picture. Somewhere under deck? I don't have a hatch anywhere on the boat except in the stern right in front of the engine (where my batteries are currently located). Then there are 2 pie plates on deck (one for gas fill/vent and the other for the pickup).

Take a look at this photo...
See that pie plate just forward of the v-berth? That is the forward bilge area.
I'll have to look and see if I have a photo of the bilge pump in that space.

Here you go... does this help?

 

[Damandan]

Yes that does help. You think there is enough room in there for batteries? Looks kinda tight. They must have done some changes to the Parker 25 since my 90 because I don't have a bilge area there, mine must have to drain all the way back to the stern.

 

[Megabyte]

Yes that does help. You think there is enough room in there for batteries? Looks kinda tight. They must have done some changes to the Parker 25 since my 90 because I don't have a bilge area there, mine must have to drain all the way back to the stern.

I think you could fit one, and possibly two in there, but a false floor would need to be fabricated first due to the slope of the hull.
I was actually considering putting a single Group 27 or 31 battery in my stbd side storage well someday as a house battery.
My thought is that if I ever get the radar I want (or a windlass), an AGM house battery in that area would be just the ticket.

Once this tropical storm / Nor`easter passes us, I'll try to get down to the boat for some photos and a couple of measurements.
According to my rain gage, we've had 7" of rain so far and the gage is full to the top.

Not sure what year the forward bilge was added by the factory.
Mine is a 1996 model and the factory pump was a 360 gph. I upgraded to an 800 gph pump some years ago.
Even with the pump in place, some water remains as the pump can't get it all.
While the boat is in her slip, I keep that deck hatch popped open to give her a little ventilation.

 

[Damandan]

Update. I cut under the bunks on the starboard side right infront of the wheelhouse. I cut a hole for a hatch 23x13 there was plenty of space to put the batteries side by side like I wanted. Haven't gotten a chance to take pics, but will the next time I get on my boat.

Just finished rewiring the trailer along with new non marking rollers and fenders. Quite a job.

 

[Bryan 2530]

Was it filled with foam up there? :?:

 

[UnWired]

I keep the Flux gate compass for our autopilot inside of the STBD side bunk box. I was also thinking about installing a set of batteries in the FWD boxes, but batteries contain metal and current through your cables will create a bad magnetic effect and throw off a flux gate. Also, after some washdown time, the forward STBD box filled up with water and they never put a drain hole up in the fwd boxes. You have to manually get in there and pull the water out.
Does anyone have a drain in the forward boxes, or does it just sit in there like mine ?

If you ever do a full flush of the bilge, the forward stbd box will fill up with water. No way of getting around it. The routing of the fwd bilge pump hose routes right through that area and there is a 2+ inch hole between the fwd bildge area and that box.

 

[Megabyte]

Chris, Have you ever done a flush of your anchor rode locker?

I took a 5 gal bucket of water with a good bit of Orange Zep mixed in, and poured it into the anchor rode hawse pipe.
That flushed the nasty anchor line crud to the mid bilge, then eventually back to the rear bilge.

After tossing in the soapy water, I let it sit for about an hour, then let my hose run clean water into the anchor rode area for almost another hour.
Anchor rode, and both bilge areas clean!

 

[Damandan]

There was no foam under the bunks. Here are the quick pictures I took yesterday. So far I have only cut into the bunk right infront of the helm for my batteries. It's built just like the newer boats with factory installed hatches, just not finished off with gelcoat. Has a section in both the front and the back and has no drainage. There was some moisture in there but the plywood was as good as the day they put it down. Be ready for some work though, there is about 1/4" of glass followed by 3/4" of hard plywood. Burned out 5 jigsaw blades and 2 skill saw blades cutting that hatch out! Probably better to use carbide blades.

Picture of the hatch

Picture of inside (just raw glass but very smooth)

Picture of the battery tray I am building to fit in there. About 13"x13" Enough to put 2 batteries side by side

Finally I am planning on drilling a hole into the pipe that runs forward into my console up front which would drain any water into the bilge should it get in there. Will post more pics as it progresses.

 

[Damandan]

Posted this under the Projects forum.

http://www.classicparker.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=9648